January is a time to set new goals for the New Year while celebrating the accomplishments of the past year. Many people set New Year’s resolutions for things they’d like to change in the upcoming year, and one of the main resolutions people have is to improve their health and fitness by losing weight and/or becoming more physically active.

Unfortunately, less than 10 percent of the people who make New Year’s resolutions actually achieve their goals, according to a study conducted at the University of Scranton. With the risk of not meeting goals so high, what can you do to set yourself up for success? Here are a few tips to help you stay on track to meeting your health and fitness goals.

Simplicity

It may be tempting to plan to start an extreme exercise program where you’re at the gym five or more days a week, doing all kinds of high-intensity exercises. The reality is that doing too much too fast can increase your risk of injury and lead to burnout. A simple routine consisting of activities such as walking or cycling can have a hugely positive impact on your health. Just 150 minutes (2.5 hours) per week of these types of activities can improve health and decrease risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes, among others. Take a look at everybodywalk.org to read more about the health benefits that can be achieved with simple exercise programs.

Setting goals and tracking progress

Setting realistic goals is critical. Goals that are too ambitious or unrealistic can quickly hurt your motivation and make you less likely to stick to your new plan for improving health and fitness. One common approach to goal-setting is using SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely). For example, “wanting to lose weight” is not a SMART goal because it is not specific enough and does not have a time frame for completing the goal; in contrast, “wanting to lose 10 pounds in by April 1” would be considered a SMART goal.

Also, tracking progress toward meeting your goals is critical to maintaining motivation. Whether it’s monitoring your weight every week to track weight loss or keeping track of your weekly exercise routines to see improvements over time, being able to see progress can be a very strong motivator and keep you on the road to achieving your goals.

Finally, goal-setting helps uncover potential barriers to meeting your goals. If you know your potential barriers to becoming healthier and more physically active, you can put together plans for overcoming these barriers and getting back to achieving the goals you’ve set.

Success, results and pain relief

After you start being active, you’ll likely see that simple activities such as walking can help you feel healthier and even relieve pain. While most health and fitness goals that people set can take weeks or months to achieve, pain relief and increased feelings of wellbeing can often be felt almost immediately after starting an exercise program. These positive feelings help motivate you to stick with your new routine, and before you know it, you’ll start seeing the progress toward your goals!

Team up to stay active

Need encouragement to keep working toward your goals? Team up with a friend. When you know someone is relying on you, you’ll be more apt to get up and go so you don’t let your buddy down. Also, working out with a buddy can be more fun than working out alone, and finding a way to enjoy being active can make it easier to stick with your plan and work toward meeting your health and fitness goals.

Consider joining a fitness facility or gym

Structured fitness programs and gyms may not be for everyone, but a significant advantage of having a membership to a fitness facility or gym is that good facilities will incorporate many of the aspects discussed above. As one example, our Adult Physical Fitness Program at Ball State University offers fitness testing for all new members in order to determine current fitness levels, and this information can be used to set and track SMART goals. The Adult Physical Fitness Program also offers an inviting community with friendly members and well-trained staff. This supportive environment can be very beneficial in staying on track to sticking with your New Year’s Resolution. The Adult Physical Fitness Program has been a service for over 40 years and helped thousands of people become or stay physically active and improve their health.

Make a commitment to your health for 2015 and begin the New Year with a commitment you can keep. You can join a program such as the Adult Physical Fitness Program in order to get active, or you can take these principles and do it on your own as well. Starting a regular walking routine with a friend and setting realistic goals can get you on the road to a healthy 2015!

Alex Montoye and Nicole Koontz work for the Adult Physical Fitness Program at Ball State University.